What The Hell America!

We’ll be honest: When Sam and Andrew unearthed a clip last November of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. interviewing a chemtrail conspiracy theorist on his podcast—“I am persuaded by what you’re saying,” Kennedy told him—we thought we were spotlighting the then-HHS nominee’s conspiratorial frame of mind. The idea he would actually use his lofty perch in the government to succor chemtrail nuts seemed, even then, a little far-fetched.

But as Will Sommer reported yesterday, that’s exactly what Kennedy is doing: “It’s done, we think, by [the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency], and a lot of it now is coming out of the jet fuel,” Kennedy told a chemtrail believer in a Dr. Phil appearance this week. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop it.” Happy Friday.

by William Kristol

Yesterday started as a normal workday for Trump’s embattled national security adviser, Mike Waltz: Get to the office early, spend a little time at your job, then hustle to the White House grounds for the truly important work: an appearance on Fox & Friends at 8:00 am.

But being friends with Fox wasn’t enough. No sooner was Waltz off the air than word began circulating that he was to be fired. Later that morning, Trump held a public event in the Rose Garden in which most of his top aides were present, but not Waltz.

That was followed by a slew of reports (confirmed by White House officials) that Waltz was indeed on the way out. Soon after, President Trump announced he would be nominating Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations—thereby removing him as national security adviser—and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would serve in that position on an interim basis.

What does it all mean?

You might think it means that it’s chaos as usual in the court of the mad king.

But that would be wrong! Waltz served 101 days as Trump’s first national security adviser, far outstripping his first term predecessor, Michael Flynn, who was booted after 22 days. It’s a new era of relative stability in Trump World!

It does mean that above the staff turmoil stands Donald Trump, firmly in charge, with his advisers pretty much interchangeable and replaceable at his whim.

It also means that while Trump relishes seeing people sell their souls for him and to him, it rarely pays off. As Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton remarked yesterday:

I was honestly surprised when Mike Waltz, a friend and colleague who cares about American leadership in the world, sold out to Trump because it was always going to end this way. A combat veteran who honorably served his country, Mike was never going to be unprincipled enough, incompetent enough, or dumb enough (like Pete Hegseth) to survive under Trump.

One problem with selling out is that there can be receipts from your past. MAGA true believers like Laura Loomer are pretty good at finding those receipts, and making life unpleasant for those who have stopped even one step short of total Maoist recantation. Over at Axios, our old colleague Marc Caputo quoted an administration adviser yesterday who called Waltz’s reassignment a “confirmed kill” for Loomer.

Insofar as anything substantive about foreign policy can be read into Waltz’s removal, it’s that America First doctrines are stronger than ever in the Trump circles. Any remnants of Reaganite Republican internationalism will be even weaker in the Trump administration going forward.

As the New York Times reported, Waltz, who had been “arguing internally for sharp sanctions against Russia if it fails to agree to a cease-fire with Ukraine,” was seen “as too hawkish to work for a president who campaigned as a skeptic of American intervention abroad and was eager to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and normalize relations with Russia.” With Waltz gone, the prospects for increased hostility toward democratic allies and more accommodation of Vladimir Putin have heightened.

So whatever schadenfreude one can enjoy from the failure of Waltz’s Faustian bargain should be tempered by the realization that his departure means the odds of even more irresponsible and destructive Trump administration policies have gone up.

Who will take over as the next security adviser? Trump sycophant and MAGA grifter Ric Grenell is generally considered the leading candidate. But it’s worth noting that as soon as the news of Waltz’s firing broke, the prominent Trumpist account “@MAGAResource” posted this: “Would you support General Flynn as Trump’s new national security advisor now that Mike Waltz is gone?” It’s gotten thousands of likes and retweets.

Whoa. Of course Trump wouldn’t actually consider bringing Mike Flynn—a (pardoned) felon who twice pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI and has since become an ever more crazed lunatic conspiracy theorist—back into the White House, right?

Right?

by Andrew Egger

During Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, Mike Waltz was photographed with his phone out under the desk, surreptitiously checking his—what else?—Signal. Here’s a conversation he might have been having. . . .

MARCO RUBIO: Team- establishing a principles group for coordination on Mike and Alex’s exit. We’re asking people to pitch in for a card and a cake.

JOHN RATCLIFFE: What?

JD VANCE: You might not have heard— POTUS is getting ready to kick Mike to the curb. And giving him—get this—the UN gig. Lmao.

PETE HEGSETH: WHAT’S GOING ON WHO IS THIS

STEVE WITKOFF:

MIKE WALTZ: Gotta say I feel like I’m getting a raw deal here, guys. Sure, that whole Signal thing was not ideal, but it’s like a hundred news cycles ago now! What happened to “no scalps”?

PETE HEGSETH: HOW DO I KNOW ANY OF YOU ARE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE

MARCO RUBIO: Look, Mike, don’t think of this as a demotion. It’s just a little reorganization: POTUS might think you’re not a great fit in the “war planning” department, but you still have a lot to offer when it comes to yelling at globalists and Europeans.

JD VANCE: Most fun gig in Washington, Mike. Honestly I’m almost jealous.

STEPHEN MILLER: Do us a favor while you’re there, see if you can get any of those other ambassadors on a plane to CECOT. LOL

STEVE WITKOFF:

MIKE WALTZ: Look, I mean it. Is POTUS really going to give JEFFREY GOLDBERG a win here? I swear on my life, it was all a misunderstanding! His phone number was in an email signature, and an AI bot somehow put it in my phone, and anyway wasn’t Elon looking into this?? What is happening??

MARCO RUBIO: Let’s have a little dignity here, Mike. What kind of cake do you like?

MIKE WALTZ: I just gave up my safe House seat! I did finger guns for the New York Times!

JD VANCE: Yeah, great pic, buddy. The whole “central casting” thing is why POTUS brought on a neocon like you. But you should have known you’d be on a short leash—I mean, you know Laura Loomer as well as the rest of us.

MIKE WALTZ: I refuse to believe I know that maniac as well as you do. And anyway, I’m one of the good neocons! I’m America First! Like Marco!

MARCO RUBIO: Leave me out of this one, Mike.

JD VANCE: Whoa, Mike. Say it to her face, why don’t you.

(JD Vance added Laura Loomer)

LAURA LOOMER: What’s going on, Mike!! How does it feel to get LOOOOMERED??

STEVE WITKOFF:

(Susie Wiles has removed Laura Loomer)

SUSIE WILES: Guys, I told you you could use this chat to coordinate card and cake. Card and cake.

MIKE WALTZ: Pete, come on—help me out here—you’re the one who POSTED THE ATTACK PLANS! I just created the Signal group!

PETE HEGSETH: I’M NOT TELLING YOU PEOPLE ANYTHING BUNCH OF JACKALS LEAKERS EVERYWHERE I WILL NOT BE SET UP AGAIN

TULSI GABBARD: This is getting pretty heated, guys. Embrace the spirit of aloha!

MIKE WALTZ: Oh my God. I just realized this means a confirmation hearing.

MARCO RUBIO: Yeah, I think we’re done here. Mike, if you don’t have a cake preference we’ll just go with Barron’s favorite.

MIKE WALTZ:

(Mike Waltz has left the chat)

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: Hey guys, sorry to break in, but—

(Tulsi Gabbard is typing)
(Marco Rubio is typing)
(JD Vance is typing)
(Pete Hegseth has left the chat)

• The TNL AMA! Did you miss out on last night’s live “ask me anything” with JVL, TIM, and SARAH? Catch a replay here.

• Mike Waltz Is Out. Pete Hegseth Is Probably Next… It’s time for a more responsible secretary of defense, argues former Representative JANE HARMAN.

• Trump’s Immigration Policy Is a Failure Built on Lies… A policy at war with the truth is doomed to fail, MONA CHAREN reminds us.

• Recovering ‘Aspirational’ Conservatism… John Wilsey offers encouragement to those more interested in principles than headlines and partisan potshots, writes NADYA WILLIAMS in her review of Wilsey’s recent book.

• A New Era of Economic Warfare… On Shield of the Republic, EDWARD FISHMAN joins ERIC EDELMAN and ELIOT COHEN to discuss the American tradition of reaching for economic sanctions as an alternative to force, and how U.S. policymakers have weaponized the dollar in international finance to U.S. advantage.

• Tariffs, Trade, and why Michael Steele is still a Republican… In an lively episode of The Michael Steele Podcast, MICHAEL STEELE and OREN CASS hash out MAGA’s support for tariffs and how to build a trade system that works for Americans.

THE HITS KEEP COMING: At some point, Trump will run out of piñatas to hit. But we are not there yet. Overnight, the president issued an executive order to stop public funding of National Public Radio and PBS. He cited “biased and partisan news coverage” as the reason. This morning, he posed on Truth Social that “we are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status.” As for the reasons why, he added: “It’s what they deserve!” It’s a sound legal argument though we’re not sure how strong it will be when used in court.

That’s the short term consideration. The longer term one—which conservatives don’t seem to be grappling with—is what happens when Democrats regain power (assuming we have elections). Does the Heritage Foundation or Hillsdale College or any other conservative or religious, tax-exempt institution think that Pandora’s box gets closed? The movement seems to be placing a big bet that Democrats will revert to preexisting norms and just ignore the blow torch that Trump has taken to various institutions. Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re wrong.

—Sam Stein

THE LETTER OF THE LAW: In early April, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent letters to six law firms: four that had bowed to White House demands after being targeted by executive orders, and two Trump-allied firms that had reportedly sought to capitalize on the shakedown.They received replies weeks later. Blumenthal’s office shared them with The Bulwark.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, whose partners include Doug Emhoff, said the administration reached out to them in late March “regarding the potential issuance of an Executive Order.” It revealed that it made the decision to not just engage in discussions but also “make a proposal” to the administration. The letter insists that the agreement “is consistent with Willkie’s practices and core values.” The firm ended up agreeing to provide $100 million in free legal services.

Paul, Weiss told Blumenthal and Raskin that it had determined that “the effects of the executive order would destroy the firm, even if [they] ultimately prevailed in court.” The firm, which made a $40 million pro bono commitment to Trump, insisted that “the Administration will not determine what matters we take on. We obviously could not ethically have agreed to such a condition.”

Milbank LLP, which agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services as part of a settlement, simply referred the two lawmakers to an internal email its chairman sent to firm personnel about the agreement.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP, one of the firms accused of trying to take Paul, Weiss clients and poach its lawyers, called those assertions “false.” The firm, which also settled with Trump, said in its letter to Blumenthal and Raskin that it “will continue to determine which matters we take on—both pro bono and otherwise.”

The most interesting response came from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, which has very much remained in Trump’s good graces. The firm (whose letter was previously reported) called reports that it was using the executive orders to recruit lawyers or business from rival firms “false.” But it did reveal it received an “unsolicited inquiry from a legal ‘headhunter’” regarding a Paul, Weiss attorney. The firm insisted it did not pursue the matter. Sullivan & Cromwell attorneys also acknowledged speaking to Paul, Weiss clients during the period the latter was targeted by the Trump administration and that those discussions were “likely” about “securing new or additional business.” But they insisted that this “took place in the ordinary course of business.” Finally, Sullivan & Cromwell addressed the role that one of its top lawyers, Bob Giuffra, played in facilitating the deal with Paul, Weiss. Giuffra has represented Trump in his hush money case appeal and is widely regarded as a fixer-like figure for the president. Sullivan & Cromwell confirmed that Paul, Weiss reached out to Guiffra to help with the executive order and that Guiffra agreed to help them reach a resolution.

—Sam Stein

BRAINWASHING STATION: What’s it look like to have a GOP rebuilt from the ground up in Trump’s image? How about Oklahoma voters electing a MAGAfluencer wannabe state superintendent who then makes “Trump won in 2020” part of the high school curriculum? Over at Popular Information, Judd Legum reports the following:

Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, thousands of high school students in Oklahoma will be required to learn about President Trump’s debunked claims that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud. The lesson will not be part of a course on conspiracy theories, but an official component of the new social studies curriculum created by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters (R).

The new curriculum includes a section that requires students to “analyze contemporary turning points of 21st-century American society.” That requirement includes the following: “Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”

WHAT’S THE POINT IF YOU DON’T EVEN GET A PARADE?: Did you know the U.S. Army and Donald Trump share a birthday? Trump sure seems to. Per the AP:

Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned.

The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element—a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed.

The Army anniversary just happens to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14.

While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size. Costs would include the movement of military vehicles, equipment, aircraft and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of service members.